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Arrests at Westminster
British police arrested dozens of people outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Thursday after protesters expressed support for Palestine Action, a group the British government has banned as a terrorist organization.
“The Metropolitan Police force said 117 people had been arrested”
The Metropolitan Police said protesters who expressed support for a proscribed organization could be arrested, with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine warning, “Expressing support for proscribed organizations is a criminal offence, and anyone doing so can expect to be arrested,”.
AP reported that the Metropolitan Police said 117 people had been arrested, most for “expressing support for a proscribed organization,” as protesters shouted “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” outside the courthouse.
AP also said the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal brought by Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori, with the case due to be heard sometime between October and December.
France 24 reported that the Supreme Court said it had agreed to hear the appeal and that an expedited hearing was expected sometime between October to December.
Competing narratives
Defend Our Juries urged supporters to verbally express their support for Palestine Action at the planned demonstration in central London, even after the Metropolitan Police said protesters would face arrest under the Terrorism Act.
The Metropolitan Police warned that “The law is clear. Expressing support for proscribed organisations is a criminal offence, and anyone doing so can expect to be arrested,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine said.
AP reported that Human Rights Watch’s Thomas Bell said, “Using counterterror powers to suppress dissent goes against democratic values and harms freedom of expression and assembly in this country,” as he urged “Andy Burnham, the new prime minister, needs to call for a reset.”
Al Jazeera reported that London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X that “Expressing support for Palestine Action is an offence under the Terrorism Act. Officers have begun making arrests,” as Defend Our Juries said “hundreds are outside Westminster Magistrates today to say this is not terrorism”.
The London Evening Standard said Defend Our Juries claimed one of the arrested for support was Sir Jonathan Porritt, and it quoted the group’s statement that “I support Palestine Action and I encourage everyone to do the same. Saving lives is not terrorism.”
What happens next
The Supreme Court’s decision to grant permission to appeal means Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori can take the case to Britain’s top judges after the Court of Appeal upheld the ban.
“All cases of people charged with breaching the ban have been put on hold”
AP said the Supreme Court said Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori can take the case to the country’s top judges, and it reported that all cases of people charged with breaching the ban have been put on hold until the Supreme Court rules.
France 24 reported that the ban imposed in July 2025 under the UK’s Terrorism Act makes membership in, or support for, the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, and it said the ban has led to more than 3,500 arrests according to police and activists.
The Jewish Chronicle reported that Defend Our Juries said the event would go ahead even after the Met said the relevant court hearings had been adjourned, and it quoted the group’s claim that “1,855 people are still listed to appear in court tomorrow.”
Al Jazeera said Huda Ammori told the Supreme Court she would continue “to fight this proscription all the way to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn what has become one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history.”
